Mother of murdered goth Sophie Lancaster speaks out on 10th anniversary of daughter's murder

The mother of murdered goth Sophie Lancaster has spoken of her continued determination to end hatred on the tenth anniversary of her daughter's death.

Sophie, 20, was stamped to death while defending her boyfriend from a gang at a park in Bacup, Lancashire, in August 2007.

She died in August 24 - 13 days after the brutal assault - having been kicked so hard that a boot-print was visible on her face.

Sophie's boyfriend Robert Maltby was left badly injured in the attack, which saw five people jailed.

Her mum, Sylvia, has every reason to be angry - but instead she has chosen to dedicate her life to peace and tolerance.

The 20-year-old's untimely death at the hands of the gang of ‘feral’ teenage thugs shocked the nation.

Sophie's family, prosecutors and police insist she died simply because she looked different.

Described as a ‘goth girl’ during the furore that followed her death, Sophie in fact loved all kinds of alternative music and culture.

It has been her friends and peers in subcultures across the country that have spent the last decade spreading a message of hope and tolerance in Sophie’s name.

From tragedy came the catalyst for change.

Her mum Sylvia has spent the past 10 years working tirelessly to stamp out hate crime and intolerance in Sophie’s name.

She was angry in the wake of her daughter's death, but determined to make a difference.

Sylvia set up the Sophie Lancaster Foundation - a charity dedicated to creating a lasting legacy to the bright young woman.

During the early days the group relied on alternative bands to help spread their message at gigs and festivals.

But it quickly snowballed and, in the years after her death, it was impossible to go to a gig in the north west without spotting a ‘S.O.P.H.I.E’ wristband.

The message grew further as punks, moshers, metalheads, emos and goths spread those ideals at alternative gigs and festivals, such as Rebellion and Download Festival.

Bands including Goldblade, The Damned and The Levellers sold the wristbands from their merchandise stalls.

In 2009 the organisers of metal music festival Bloodstock dedicated a stage to Sophie.

That same year the foundation gained charity status.

It was a flurry of activity that carried Sophie’s family through those first difficult years after her death. But it wasn’t easy.

“When I look back at the old pictures of myself in the early days I see how angry I was. I can see it,” says Sylvia.

Sophie was just 20 when she and her boyfriend Robert Maltby were set upon by the ‘feral thugs’ in a Rossendale park.The gang of teenagers first attacked Robert during the early hours at Stubbylee Park, Bacup, on August 11, 2007.

When Sophie rushed to help him they focused their attention on her, kicking her in the head and leaving her for dead.

The couple were so badly beaten that when paramedics arrived they could not tell if they were male or female.

Sophie, who was placed on a life-support machine, bore the shape of a footprint on her head. She died 13 days later.

Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert are both serving life sentences for Sophie’s murder.

Brothers Joseph and Danny Hulme and Daniel Mallett have all since been released from prison after serving sentences for grievous bodily harm.

“The work is more important,” Sylvia says.

“I’ve sacrificed a lot to do this, but the work is so important.”

Sylvia has vowed that the foundation will continue for as long as it is necessary. Currently there is no end in sight.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface,” she adds.

People still contact the team - on a weekly basis - to share their frightening stories of discrimination and hate crime.

“They send pictures of their injuries as well. That can be shocking,” says Kate, a family friend who has worked alongside Sylvia since the tragic events of 2007.

“Behind the scenes of our social media we support victims and people who have been attacked.

“We hear about kids in school who are bullied and people who go to gigs and then get beaten up in the chippy.”

The team’s current focus is on legislation around online hate crime.

The foundation is supporting the Crown Prosecution Service’s new guidance calling for online hate crimes to be treated as seriously as those committed in person.

In the decade since the horrific attack on Sophie and Robert, Sylvia and her team have made great strides towards change.

In 2013 Greater Manchester Police became the first force in England to record and monitor hate crimes and incidents against people from alternative subcultures.

Four years later, the force has recorded 109 crimes of this nature.

Another six police forces have followed GMP’s lead to record hate crime in this way.

But Sylvia is most proud of the educational work the charity carries out in schools, colleges and prisons to challenge perceptions of people in subcultures. She eventually hopes it will form part of the national curriculum.